


28th of July - in which Lance suspects that the others are hiding something from him

by PenMelody (Skarmoree)



Series: A Metaphorical Trip Around the Sun [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Partial langst?, birthday fic, homesick Lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 21:16:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15470229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skarmoree/pseuds/PenMelody
Summary: The others were hiding something from him.They thought they were being subtle, but Lance had grown up with older sisters. Well, that and his cousins and nieces and nephews before he understood the concept. After he learned, he still treated them as younger siblings.Happy Birthday Lance!





	28th of July - in which Lance suspects that the others are hiding something from him

**Author's Note:**

> Tiiiiny but late due to being on summer camp, but dedication to Lance has brought this to you, in its entirely unedited glory!
> 
> I’ll probably fix it when I get home lol

The others were hiding something from him.

  
They thought they were being subtle, but Lance had grown up with older sisters. Well, that and his cousins and nieces and nephews before he understood the concept. After he learned, he still treated them as younger siblings.

Either way, Lance had a big family. He knew secrets when he saw them.

And the others definitely had a secret.

A secret they wouldn't share with him.

Lance tried to pretend that he didn't notice the way that hushed conversations would abruptly stop whenever he walked in to the room. He tried to turn a blind eye to the way his teammates shoved something out of sight just before he could glimpse it, then flat out deny that they were hiding something from him.

He tried not to let it bother him. But he couldn't squish the deep feeling of hurt. Lance just wanted them to be happy together. But when the others were all happily bonding over something he apparently wasn't allowed to be involved in?

It hurt.

It was a deep hurt that squeezed at his heart. The sort of hurt that couldn't be taken away by a healing pod or rest. It was the type of hurt that Lance had become used to over the years.

It rested in the depth of his rib cage, sometimes muted, but always there.

And in this moment, it was overwhelming.

Lance stepped into the dining room, watching Keith shove some papers out of sight. He decided to pretend not to notice, instead greeting everyone over-enthusiastically. He kept up his grin, nodding along to the conversation, inserting a random comment whenever he felt it was required.

Mostly, he was ignored.

Just like any other day, he supposed.

Lance went about his day robotically, auto pilot engaged and running flawlessly. He let his mind roam free, thinking what it wanted as he ducked and weaved between his teammates. The gladiator should've had his attention, but his mind was someplace else.

He listened to the sound of waves. The sound of water at the beach, lapping gently at his feet as he savours a slice of his birthday cake.

His mother steps out of the house, her arms spread wide, the rest of his family behind her. They run towards him, slices of their own cake dangling from their hands, icing sliding ever closer to the ground. His mother smiles as his little niece jumps into his arms for a hug, his oldest sister ruffling his hair. He hears a quiet "happy birthday" and turns to hug his cousin, a thanks already on his lips. An older voice calls him and he turns.

The gladiator punches him in the face.

Lance lay staring at the ceiling, oblivious to his teammate's panicked cries. Slowly he reached a hand up to his nose. Was he supposed to be feeling something?

"Lance, are you okay?"

Lance looked upwards in a daze, something fuzzy and dark in colour leaning over him. He blinked.

He blinked again.

And once more.

Were eyes supposed to be this fuzzy?

"Lance?"

Oh yeah. The fuzz was talking to him.

"Huh?" Lance managed. His voice sounded stuffy, probably a side effect of being punched in the nose.

Strong arms lifted him into a standing position. He was taller now, the fuzz was sort of eye level.

The wonders of being upright, he supposed.

"Bro, you good?" The voice came from behind him. It was probably the person that had picked him up. Or maybe the wall had lifted him. He was in a freaky castle that had already done weird shit once. It wasn't that impossible. But he was pretty sure walls weren't squishy.

It was probably Hunk.

Ah, he had been asked a question hadn't he? What was it again? Something about bros.

"Bro." Lance said, hoping it was a suitable response for whatever the question actually was.

The fuzz in front of him laughed, and a smaller green fuzz stepped up real close to his face. He drew back a tiny bit, startled, but didn't move away.

Lance got the strangest urge to boop noses. Except his nose was hurting. A lot.

Also, his nose felt kind of sticky as well.

He reached up, wiping at his own face. The hand he brought down was streaked scarlet. He wondered when he was hit with paint, before it clicked that the red was his own blood.

He should probably do something about that.

"Nose."

Gentle hands reached out, tugging him slowly towards a door he remembered but wasn't entirely aware of.

He wanted to sit down.

Lance sat.

But he forgot that he was being tugged. So the green blur landed on top of him.

"Lance, what are you... oh." Pidge trailed off as she noticed the dazed, faraway look in her teammate's eyes.

"I'll get Coran to set up a pod." someone else said. Lance figured it was Keith.

"I'll go on ahead and get a cloth ready," Hunk said, running ahead in the direction of the kitchen. Lance guessed they were supposed to head there. The chairs probably would have been better than the floor.

Oh well, too late now.

Hunk came back a short while later, cup of water in one hand and a cloth in the other.

Shiro took the cloth, gently dabbing Lance's face free of blood. It would have been awkward, but Lance wasn't really thinking about it. Once again, his mind was somewhere else.

He'd forgotten it was his birthday.

He wanted to go home.

Lance was pulled sharply back to reality as his nose was snapped back into place.

He let out a howl of pain, oblivious to the apologetic hug he received from his best friend. He gave a scandalised look to him- well, he hoped it was, he couldn't do much with a half numb face.

The cold of the pod surrounded him, and then there was nothing.

When Lance returned to awareness he was in the arms of Hunk. His mind was clearer, and his vision had improved. He could also feel his nose, so that was a good thing.

But he was so tired, he just wanted to sleep. His eyes drooped, and Hunk held him up with a strong hand.

"Hey, c'mon Lance buddy, we've got a surprise for you."

Lance stepped back so he could look at Hunk properly. He raised a sleepy eyebrow and allowed Hunk to lead him away (slightly stumbling), the rest of the team trailing behind them.

They ended up in the training room, the rest of the team giving each other excited looks. Lance couldn't really bring himself to feel the same. Was this what they had been hiding from him this entire time?

The pang returned in his chest, and Lance's shoulders slumped forwards.

"Close your eyes."

Despite the bitterness he was experiencing, Lance did as he was told. The others shuffled around. There was the sound of a switch being flicked, and he waited for further instructions.

Something landed on his head, followed by something else. Lance brought a hand up to his head, feeling the back of his hair. It was cold, and wet.

It was raining.

It was honest to god raining in the training room.

His eyes sprung open. Water cascaded from the ceiling, cold and refreshing. Puddles began forming on the floor, trailing to the edges where it drained away slowly.

It was raining.

Lance smiled, a happy burst of laughter exploding from deep within his soul. He turned his face up, letting his eyes close again as he felt the water over his face. He spread his arms out, simply enjoying the sensation that he had missed for so long.

Lance fell to his knees, not caring as the water soaked through his jeans. Warmer water dripped from his face, and Lance realised he was crying.

Hunk gave him a reassuring pat on the back. Lance sniffled, turning his head to face him.

"Thank you..." he said, voice raw with so many emotions. "Thank you so much."

Hunk nodded, knowing Lance didn't need any more words. This was enough.

It was raining.

It was everything Lance needed. Everything he missed. Everything he wished.

Hunk left after a minute, the rest of the team trailing out after him. Pidge wished Lance a happy birthday quietly, the last to leave.

But he didn't really hear her, too distracted by the water still falling from above.

Lance stayed, soaked to the bone and the happiest he'd been in ages.

The others had made it rain.

And Lance loved it.

**Author's Note:**

> In other news A D AM


End file.
